Banner to buy Oregon bank

Walla Walla's Banner Bank will buy Siuslaw Bank, an Oregon chartered commercial bank with 10 branch offices in Lane County, including in Eugene.

Banner Corp., the parent company of Banner Bank and Islanders Bank, announced the merger of Siuslaw Financial Group into Banner on Thursday.

With the merger, Banner Corp. will have about $5.1 billion in assets and will be the fourth largest commercial bank based in the Northwest based on assets.

Mark Grescovich, Banner's president and chief executive officer, said in a statement, "This transaction presents a unique opportunity for us to expand our presence in Oregon, including our entry into Eugene, which is the second largest metropolitan market in the state.

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"The combination of our two organizations provides the opportunity to create revenue and cost synergies while offering Siuslaw customers a broader product offering, increased lending limits and an expanded branch delivery system that stretches throughout the Pacific Northwest."

The boards of Banner and Siuslaw unanimously approved the sale, but Siuslaw shareholders still need to approve the agreement and it needs to receive regulatory approval.

This is the second purchase Banner has made of an Oregon chartered bank this summer. Banner Bank closed on the purchase of six branches of Umpqua Bank, a successor to Sterling Savings Bank, in June.